Deja Vu Construction

Friday, September 25, 2009

Are you looking for something more eco friendly and better looking than cheap particle board closet kits covered with vinyl? That is exactly why I decided to design closet and storage solutions using old doors. I realized that all I needed to do was cut discarded doors to size on my table saw and fill the open ends with lumber, then paint them. Since doors are framed with wood and "skinned" with hardboard they are lightweight, but very stable. Think of the abuse that doors must take with everyday use. As shelves they are very strong and can be cut very wide which is excellent for use in kids rooms where large toys and big boxes are stored.

With 15 years of experience as a professional organizer I can help you design a closet to fit your storage needs and patterns of use. My training as a carpenter and handy woman give you one stop shopping for both design and execution for a very reasonable price. If you just need one or two shelves installed I'd be happy to do that too. I also offer my services as a handywoman to do general home repairs, carpentry, light electrical, drywall repair, installations, assembly and many other fix-it jobs.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Desk and Storage From Old Doors

The client wanted to make better use of a tiny bedroom she called the Box Room since it was where the family stored their unused items. She wanted the room to serve as her guest bedroom and have in it a full size bed, while offering storage space for her office paperwork, her husband's oversize tennis bag and her disaster kit backpack. We started by giving away the old single bed and clearing out extraneous items.

I designed a folding rollaway bed using two doors hinged together with a piano hinge. I built the frame to accomodate storage underneath for the folding foam mattress and bed clothes.

Here is the bed in it's folded configuration. The frame of the storage cabinet was built from salvaged 2 x 4's. For the legs I used wood from an old futon frame. The castors were salvaged from an old metal typing table. Still to be added is the cabinet door.

Five hollow core doors went into the project. I found them on Craig's list where doors are often offered for sale. Freecycle is also a good source for doors as well as salvage yards. The end door of the unit is held in place by friction. I installed two bolts into the top of the door which then press into a piece of wood in the ceiling. The three shelves were cut lengthwise from one door and mounted to the wall. The top shelf was open on both sides so I cut a piece of molding to cover it. Then patched all the door hinge cut-outs and lock holes.

The big tennis bag on the right determined the height of the desk added to the height of the bed in it's folded position. The wall of the desk unit was made from a hollow core door through which I cut openings to fit the bags. The floor and ceiling of the cubbies were completed by the two doors used to make the desk.

My client wanted lots of drawers which would be very time consuming to make. Luckily that same week, I found this old desk on freecycle. I removed the desktop and cut the carcass to fit between the two doors of the desk unit. The client preferred to leave the drawers the color it was and keep the original knobs.

The key to the success of the project was a great deal of measuring, sketching of layouts and a plan drawing to get all the cuts right for it to fit together as one unit.

Shed from Garage Door

I made this custom shed from an old garage door that was replaced when a new roll-up door was installed. Because the wood is painted such a door can only be disposed of at the dump. Doors of all kinds are one of the most often replaced items in a home remodel.

I first cut the door on each side making sure that I left the supporting stud with the pieces I cut. These pieces would become the side of the shed.

Once the sides were cut, I then constructed the roofline by cutting each side at a 30° angle at the top. I then transported the pieces from the site where the garage door was replaced to the home where the would live. The back of the shed was cut from OSB plywood left over from a roofing job. Here I have pre-assembled the shed frame to make sure all was square. I then disassembled it and had the pieces transported down two flights of stairs to the site.

The middle of the garage door became the front of the shed. To hold together the tongue and groove siding that the door was made from , I nailed plywood pieces to the back of it. I cut out the door before transporting the wall to the site.

The site is on a slope so I made sure that the cement footings I used for the foundation were absolutely level before my crew helped me lift the shed into place and screwed to the studs of the house. The footings were also salvaged as was the roofing material.

Here the interior of the shed awaits the floor boards and shelves. Again as with all salvage projects it is important to make copious measurements and drawings.